Monday, October 27, 2014

Week 36, Illuminatus! online reading group

(This week: "But three hours after Drake's death," page 359, to "It would be interesting to get into mathematics, really deep," page 368.)
This section is all over the place, and it's beyond the abilities of your humble blogger to write a blog post that ties all of it together. But let's look at some of the pieces.

"The fear of death is the beginning of slavery," page 363. Because it is the source of religion? Because it inhibits clear thinking?

Various medical authorities swarm in and out of here predicting I have between two days and two months to live. I think they are guessing. I remain cheerful and unimpressed. I look forward without dogmatic optimism but without dread. I love you all and I deeply implore you to keep the lasagna flying.Please pardon my levity, I don't see how to take death seriously. It seems absurd.
Jesse's blog post cites an article about the Marquis de Sade, although I don't know if de Sade's works is where RAW got the quotation.

"He didn't recall TV newscasters being that obnoxious," page 362. And this was before Fox News and MSNBC.

Sexuality, Magic and Perversion by Francis King, page 364. Not only a real book, but it's back in print -- you can even get an ebook.

"AUM, the drug that promised to turn neophobes into neophiles," page 364. In a sense, the Illuminatus! trilogy is a literary form of AUM.

"a tall redhead," page 366. Was Arlen Wilson tall, or is this a reference to somebody else?

"A series of odd questions," page 367. Pages 367-368 are both very funny and very serious. For me, it's one of the best parts of the work. The "odd questions" about U.S. national security policy are in fact a series of very reasonable questions, but ones that seldom get asked. In fact, everything from "What would you think of a man?" to "paranoid schizophrenic" in the long paragraph on page 367 would work fine as the text of a leaflet in a peace demonstration, assuming that any bystanders could be persuaded to read in and to "wake up."

"What is this man not only is feuding with the people on his blog but involves himself in the quarrels of others in distance parts of the city and even in the suburbs?" page 367. Thank heavens this is merely amusing satire and no longer has any relevance to U.S. foreign policy.

(Next week: "Harold Canvera had not bothered to fill out a questionnaire," page 368, to page 384, "Rebecca. Rebecca. Rebecca.")

4 comments:

p.361; "... he should call George Dorn at the Hotel Tudor. That's D-O-R-N, Hotel Tudor. Have you got that?

The emphasis on Dorn and Tudor (italics in the text) suggest a play on "door". Door = daleth, the path that links Chokmah with Binah, the second and third Sephira. Tudor = 2 door. 2 = the Magus (tarot). George = St. George the dragon slayer. Dorn = dor + n. N = nun (hebrew letter) = Death (tarot). A more complex interpretation would analyze each letter; suggested by his name being spelled out: D-O-R-N.

p.362 "Remember, the Attorney General will address the nation at 6pm tonight." The announcer suddenly changed his facial expression from neutral newscaster to pugnacious patriot..."

From here up to "... that had happened after he left for Mad Dog - maybe a late outgrowth of the Fernando Poo crisis" does resemble the rise of Fox News and their ilk from attempted objective reporting to opinionated castigating. Attorney General = general law. Later, if I recall correctly, "general" is associated with genius.

Last Saturday's SNL featuring Jim Carey, star of the unfortunate "23", had a reference to the Illuminati.

Pg. 366: "Dominus Vobiscum" means "The Lord be with you." My one volume Illuminatus! from MFJ Books says the crosses have the letters "CL". That seems like a typo for "GL" for "God's Lightning". The passage about pornography reminds me how much attitudes have changed. People still went to jail for making porn in the 70's when this book came out.

p.363: "... You motherfucker! You sent me to get goddam killed""And that has given you the courage to tell me off said Hagbard ..."

"The fear of death is the beginning of slavery," Hagbard said simply."

Hagbard shares a teaching technique with Crowley and Gurdjieff of creating crisis for their students. Hagbard does this repeatedly with George, RAW alludes to this in The Illuminati Papers. It's also called "brinksmanship." Conditions are created that bring the student right to the brink where they have to quickly evolve new skills to meet the situation or fall out in some way. It's an artform not to be trifled with because it looks bad when too many students are lost. It actually looks bad if only one is lost.

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A daily posting from Tom Jackson about my favorite writer, Robert Anton Wilson. I also seek material by or about Robert Shea, Mr. Wilson's collaborator in writing "Illuminatus!" If you have tips, you may write me at tom.jackson@gmail.com. Please put "Robert Anton Wilson" in the subject line.